The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in New York City from August 11 to August 14, 1980. The 1980 convention was notable as it was the last time in the 20th century, for either major party, that a candidate tried to get delegates released from their voting commitments. This was done by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Ted Kennedy, Carter's chief rival for the nomination in the Democratic primaries, who sought the votes of delegates held by Carter.

Notable speakers

After losing his challenge for the nomination earlier that day, Ted Kennedy spoke on August 12 and delivered a speech in support of President Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Kennedy's famous speech eventually closed with the lines: "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." His speech was written by Bob Shrum. Various prominent delegates to this convention included Abe Beame, Geraldine Ferraro, Bruce Sundlun,

Ruth Messinger Ruth Wyler Messinger (born November 6, 1940) is a former American political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party. She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giuliani. ...

, Thomas Addison, Ed Koch, Robert Abrams, Bella Abzug, Mario Biaggi, Steve Westly, and Howard Dean.

Voting

Candidates Image:Unsuccessful 1980.jpg, Image:Ted Kennedy in New York.jpg, Image:Senator William Proxmire.jpg,

President

Delegate voting results

Vice president

After Ted Kennedy lost the presidential nomination contest, over 700 of his delegates walked out of the convention, and the rest decided to scatter their votes. It took several roll calls to conclude the ballot. As of 2020, this is the last time that the Democratic Party has required a roll call for the vice presidential spot. Vice Presidential tally:

The President's acceptance speech

President Carter gave his speech accepting the party's nomination on August 14. This was notable for his gaffe intended to be a tribute to Hubert Humphrey, whom he referred to as "Hubert

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, an ...

". On November 4, President Carter and Vice President Mondale lost to

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, having lost both the popular election by 8,423,115 votes and the Electoral College by 440 votes.1980 Presidential General Election Results
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Platform

Abortion

In addition to its

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

stance that merely opposed overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1980 platform for the first time explicitly supported the Roe decision as the law of the land.

References

External links

Democratic Party Platform of 1980
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Carter Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project''

* ttp://www.glaa.org/archive/1980/boozerconventionspeech.shtml Speech by Melvin Boozerbr>Video of Carter nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)Audio of Carter nomination acceptance speech for President at DNCVideo of Mondale nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)
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Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Political conventions in New York City New York State Democratic Committee Political events in New York (state) Democratic National Conventions

1980s in Manhattan Madison Square Garden

Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale